My preseason Big Board for the 2018 NFL draft is up, but I'm going deeper with a position-by-position look here.
Important to note: This is a mix of seniors and underclassmen, but early on I separate the two so you see more senior players, as those are guys who are certain to be in the draft. By "underclassmen," I mean players who technically could return to school for another season. Those are true juniors and third-year sophomores. I've denoted the third-year sophomores with asterisks.
Quarterbacks
Seniors
1. Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State
2. Luke Falk, Washington State
3. Matt Linehan, Idaho
4. Mike White, Western Kentucky
5. Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
Also considered: Riley Ferguson, Memphis
Underclassmen
1. *Sam Darnold, USC
2. Josh Allen, Wyoming
3. Josh Rosen, UCLA
4. Lamar Jackson, Louisville
5. Clayton Thorson, Northwestern
Also considered: Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State; Tanner Lee, Nebraska
Rudolph could rise with a big season. He's in the mid-round discussion at this point. Jackson, the reigning Heisman Trophy winner, needs to take a quantum leap as a passer in 2017.
Running backs
Seniors
1. Royce Freeman, Oregon
2. Nick Chubb, Georgia
3. Akrum Wadley, Iowa
4. Kalen Ballage, Arizona State
5. Sony Michel, Georgia
Also considered: Ralph Webb, Vanderbilt
Underclassmen
1. Saquon Barkley, Penn State
2. Derrius Guice, LSU
3. Mark Walton, Miami (Fla.)
4. Bo Scarbrough, Alabama
5. Damien Harris, Alabama
Also considered: Ronald Jones II, USC; Kamryn Pettway, Auburn
Freeman has 44 rushing touchdowns in three seasons. Chubb rushed for 1,130 yards last season after a serious knee injury in 2015. Scarbrough had a national showcase game in the Crimson Tide's College Football Playoff semifinal win over Washington, rushing for 180 yards, but he only has 143 career carries.
Fullbacks
Seniors
1. Jaylen Samuels, NC State
2. Khalid Hill, Michigan
3. Dimitri Flowers, Oklahoma
4. Austin Ramesh, Wisconsin
5. Daniel Marx, Stanford
Also considered: Garrett Dickerson, Northwestern; J.D. Moore, LSU
Underclassmen
1. George Aston, Pittsburgh
2. Winston Dimel, Kansas State
3. Alec Ingold, Wisconsin
4. Ryan Nall, Oregon State
5. Chandler Cox, Auburn
Samuels has 120 catches the past two seasons as a tight end for the Wolfpack, but at 5-11, 240, he'll have to move to a fullback/H-back role to make it in the NFL. Hill (6-2, 255) is more of a traditional fullback.
Wide receivers
Seniors
1. James Washington, Oklahoma State
2. Dante Pettis, Washington
3. D.J. Chark, LSU
4. Jake Wieneke, South Dakota State
5. Allen Lazard, Iowa State
Also considered: Darren Carrington, Utah
Underclassmen
1. Christian Kirk, Texas A&M
2. Calvin Ridley, Alabama
3. Courtland Sutton, SMU
4. Antonio Callaway, Florida
5. Deon Cain, Clemson
I almost made Sutton my top receiver in the preseason Big Board. I think he's going to have a huge season. Washington is a big-play threat -- he has averaged 19.9 yards per catch over the past two seasons, and he has 26 career touchdown receptions.
Tight ends
Seniors
1. Dallas Goedert, South Dakota State
2. Mike Gesicki, Penn State
3. Troy Fumagalli, Wisconsin
4. Adam Breneman, Massachusetts
5. David Wells, San Diego State
Also considered: Marcus Baugh, Ohio State; DeAndre Goolsby, Florida; Tyler Conklin, Central Michigan
Underclassmen
1. Mark Andrews, Oklahoma
2. Ryan Izzo, Florida State
3. C.J. Conrad, Kentucky
4. Hayden Hurst, South Carolina
5. Josh Oliver, San Jose State
Also considered: Dalton Schultz, Stanford
Keep an eye on Goedert. He's a talented pass-catcher who had 92 catches and 11 touchdowns last season. Gesicki is a big-bodied target (6-6, 237). He had 48 catches and five touchdowns in 2016.
Offensive tackles
Seniors
1. Mike McGlinchey, Notre Dame
2. Chukwuma Okorafor, Western Michigan
3. Martinas Rankin, Mississippi State
4. Jamarco Jones, Ohio State
5. Tyrell Crosby, Oregon
Also considered: Mason Cole, Michigan
Underclassmen
1. Connor Williams, Texas
2. Orlando Brown, Oklahoma
3. Trey Adams, Washington
4. Nick Gates, Nebrask
5. Mitch Hyatt, Clemson
Also considered: Lukayus McNeil, Louisville; Martez Ivey, Florida
McGlinchey could have entered the 2017 draft and been in the Day 1 mix. Brown and Adams are both 6-foot-8 mammoth tackles with a lot of experience. Hyatt, a former five-star prospect, has been the Tigers' starting left tackle since Day 1 of his freshman year.
Offensive guards
Seniors
1. Braden Smith, Auburn
2. Cody O'Connell, Washington State
3. Austin Corbett, Nevada
4. Brendan Mahon, Penn State
5. Will Hernandez, UTEP
Also considered: Wyatt Teller, Virginia Tech; Tyrone Crowder, Clemson; Tony Adams, NC State; Colby Gossett, Appalachian State; Sean Welsh, Iowa
Underclassmen
1. Quenton Nelson, Notre Dame
2. Ross Pierschbacher, Alabama
3. Beau Benzschawel, Wisconsin
4. Sam Jones, Arizona State
5. Javon Patterson, Mississippi
With McGlinchey and Nelson, the Fighting Irish's offensive line is stout. Hernandez, who has started 37 straight games, helped pave the way for the fourth-leading rushing college football last season (Aaron Jones, 1,773 yards).
Centers
Seniors
1. Billy Price, Ohio State
2. Frank Ragnow, Arkansas
3. Scott Quessenberry, UCLA
4. Coleman Shelton, Washington
5. Bradley Bozeman, Alabama
Also considered: Jake Bennett, Colorado State; Austin Golson, Auburn; Brian Allen, Michigan State; Tejan Koromo, BYU
Underclassmen
1. James Daniels, Iowa
2. Will Clapp, LSU
3. Alec Eberle, Florida State
4. Brendan Moore, Maryland
5. Drew Kyser, Memphis
Price has started 41 straight games and the anchor on what should be one of the best offenses in the country.
Defensive ends
Seniors
1. Bradley Chubb, NC State
2. Tyquan Lewis, Ohio State
3. Ebenezer Ogundeko, Tennessee State
4. Duke Ejiofor, Wake Forest
5. Da'Shawn Hand, Alabama
Also considered: Trevon Young, Louisville; Andrew Brown, Virginia
Underclassmen
1. *Clelin Ferrell, Clemson
2. Sam Hubbard, Ohio State
3. Dorance Armstrong Jr., Kansas
4. Josh Sweat, Florida State
5. Rasheem Green, USC
Also considered: Jaylon Ferguson, Louisiana Tech; JoJo Wicker, Arizona State
Lewis was overshadowed at times on a talented Ohio State defense, but he's a solid player. He had 8.0 sacks in 2016. Armstrong had 20.0 tackles for loss for the Jayhawks last season. He's a legitimate prospect.
Defensive tackles
Seniors
1. Maurice Hurst, Michigan
2. Derrick Nnadi, Florida State
3. Lowell Lotulelei, Utah
4. Justin Jones, NC State
5. James Looney, California
Underclassmen
1. Christian Wilkins, Clemson
2. Vita Vea, Washington
3. Trenton Thompson, Georgia
4. Kendrick Norton, Miami (Fla.)
5. Jerry Tillery, Notre Dame
Also considered: Da'Ron Payne, Alabama; Harrison Phillips, Stanford; Greg Gaines, Washington
Thompson, a former five-star recruit, had a breakout 2016 with 9.5 tackles for loss. Nnadi had 6.0 sacks from the interior for the Seminoles.
Inside linebackers
Seniors
1. Rashaan Evans, Alabama
2. Azeem Victor, Washington
3. Shaun Dion Hamilton, Alabama
4. Chris Worley, Ohio State
5. Stacy Thomas, Louisville
Also considered: Micah Kiser, Virginia; Josey Jewell, Iowa; Nyles Morgan, Notre Dame; Kenny Young, UCLA; Nick DeLuca, North Dakota State
Underclassmen
1. Cameron Smith, USC
2. T.J. Edwards, Wisconsin
3. Kendall Joseph, Clemson
4. Deshaun Davis, Auburn
5. Natrez Patrick, Georgia
Also considered: Andre Smith, North Carolina; Jahlani Tavai, Hawaii
Evans and Hamilton are a supremely talented duo in the middle of the Crimson Tide's defense. Edwards has been a consistent every-down player for the Badgers the past two seasons.
Outside linebackers
Seniors
1. Harold Landry, Boston College
2. Matthew Thomas, Florida State
3. Ogbonnia Okoronkwo, Oklahoma
4. Marquis Haynes, Mississippi
5. James Hearns, Louisville
Also considered: Tegray Scales, Indiana; Mike McCray, Michigan; Lorenzo Carter, Georgia
Underclassmen
1. Arden Key, LSU
2. Jerome Baker, Ohio State
3. Tremaine Edmunds, Virginia Tech
4. Malik Jefferson, Texas
5. Porter Gustin, USC
Also considered: Jordan Jones, Kentucky; Denzil Ware, Kentucky
Edmunds had 18.5 tackles for loss last season. I'd like to see Jefferson be more consistent, but he he can really move.
Cornerbacks
Seniors
1. Anthony Averett, Alabama
2. M.J. Stewart, North Carolina
3. Greg Stroman, Virginia Tech
4. Jordan Thomas, Oklahoma
5. Duke Dawson, Florida
Underclassmen
1. Tarvarus McFadden, Florida State
2. Jaire Alexander, Louisville
3. Denzel Ward, Ohio State
4. Iman Marshall, USC
5. Donte Jackson, LSU
Stroman broke up 10 passes and had three interceptions last season. Marshall has six interceptions in two seasons.
Safeties
Seniors
1. Kyzir White, West Virginia
2. Tre Flowers, Oklahoma State
3. Godwin Igwebuike, Northwestern
4. Quin Blanding, Virginia
5. Armani Watts, Texas A&M
Also considered: Marcus Allen, Penn State
Underclassmen
1. *Derwin James, Florida State
2. Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alabama
3. Ronnie Harrison, Alabama
4. Terrell Edmunds, Virginia Tech
5. Chase Hansen, Utah
Also considered: Jordan Whitehead, Pittsburgh
How about the talent in the secondary in the FSU-Alabama game this weekend? Tremendous. Flowers is a tackling machine for the Cowboys. Northwestern has a solid prospect in Igwebuike, who is versatile.
Kickers
Seniors
1. Daniel Carlson, Auburn
2. Jonathan Barnes, Louisiana Tech
3. Jason Sanders, New Mexico
4. Lane Clark, Tennessee State
5. Drew Brown, Nebraska
Also considered: Gary Wunderlich, Mississippi
Underclassmen
1. *Eddy Pineiro, Florida
2. Emmit Carpenter, Minnesota
3. John Baron II, San Diego State
4. Parker Shaunfield, Southern Mississippi
5. Matthew Wright, Central Florida
Carlson missed only four kicks last season, and three were from 50+ yards out.
Punters
Seniors
1. JK Scott, Alabama
2. Johnny Townsend, Florida
3. Trevor Daniel, Tennessee
4. Austin Barnes, East Carolina
5. Joe Davidson, Bowling Green
Underclassmen
1. Jake Bailey, Stanford
2. Michael Dickson, Texas
3. Mitch Wishnowsky, Utah
4. Dylan Klumph, California
5. *Mason King, Louisville
Scott's 47.2 yards per punt last season ranked fourth in FBS.